good morning. clear and present danger. sandy swirls along the east coast getting closer to pounding a third of the country with torrential rain, high winds, and even heavy snow. this morning we're right in the path of the storm. battleground virginia, the state that was home to four of the first five.s. presidents, now crucial in deciding the next one. we're live in richmond. and dogfight. the heated custody battle over a portly pooch. is her caretaker using her to fatten her bank account? that's the question a judge is getting set to ponder today, sunday, october 28, 2012. from nbc news, this is a special edition of tod"today" w

lester holt live from richmond, virginia, and jenna wolfe, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning and welcome to a special edition of "today" on a sunday morning. i'm lester holt in richmond, virginia, the university of richmond, our second stop in our tour of the key presidential battleground states. jenna wolfe is back inside studio 1a. jenna, good morning. good to see you. >> nice to see you. i should have known no matter what assignment you had, you would somehow manage to find a hurricane to cover as well. it's what you do and do so well at the same time. >> yeah, i have to tell you, it's better to be lucky than good. originally we planned to come here to virginia because it's a battleground state and could help decide the presidential election, but now with sandy approaching we're right in the path of the storm. virginia is under a state of emergency as residents get set to hunker down. this morning virginia's governor is here to talk about the

preparations for this massive storm. new york's governor has declared a state of emergency as well here in new york. sandy is packing sustained winds of 75 miles per hour. this is what we know. this is the latest now. it's expected to hit somewhere along the delaware or new jersey coastline by early tuesday morning. this is a huge storm. in fact, it could bring tropical storm force winds across an 800-mile-wide stretch of the country from the east coast to the great lakes set to bring those strong winds, those torrential rains, even snow affecting up to 60 million people. we'll have live reports from all along the east coast in just a moment, lester. and, jenna, then we will talk about battleground: virginia, one of the few states up for grabs. we'll examine why this once reliably republican stronghold has become a hotly contested place, jenna. yes, but we're going to begin with sandy, the huge storm threatening the east coast, lester. as we mentioned, we have two reports this morning including al roker, who is tracking the storm but, first, the weather

channel's julie martin is on north carolina's outer banks. she joins us now. julie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, jenna. this hurricane feels more like a nor'easter to me here along the outer banks. in fact, the winds are coming from the northeast. they're tropical storm force, believe it or not, and we've been seeing them and feeling them since about midnight. with that a lot of heavy rain as well. in fact, that rain has already led to some flooding along highway 12 which leads to hatteras. that is now closed off and officials have a couple of barges along cape hatteras in case people need to get out. the sea is rough as well. there's a hurricane warning for mariners offshore. we're looking at waves 12 to 25 feet and the beaches, by the way, i was out here yesterday. i could see all of this beach. there was no water here for about 70 feet. now it is completely covered and the seas are moving in. all of this is just a little taste, though, of what is to come along the northeast for the

big cities in the next couple of days. so i hope that people are watching this and heeding those warnings because the winds, as sandy comes ashore, are going to be much stronger along the east coast than what i am feeling right now. back to you, jenna. >> julie, stay safe. julie martin, thank you very much. now let's head about 400 miles off the east coast to asbury park, new jersey. al roker is there tracking sandy's every move. al, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning to you, jenna. and of course asbury park the home of rock 'n' roll and bruce springsteen but this is different rock 'n' roll happening here as sandy makes its way onshore to the south of here. right now this is the latest on sandy. 260 miles south/southeast of cape hatteras, north carolina. it's 395 miles east of new york city. 75-mile-per-hour winds, northeast moving at 13 miles per hour. tropical force winds extend out 520 miles from the center of the storm, and that's going to be the big problem.

as this system comes onshore it is certainly going to leave its mark. officials up and down the east coast are warning residents to take sandy very seriously. >> folks, this could be bad, really bad. it could impact us in several ways and for a long period of time. >> reporter: high winds and torrential rain could mean power outages for days. residents of coastal new jersey are bracing for the worst. >> the worst part is going to be the blooding. >> reporter: crews are busy pushing sand and using it to fill bags in hopes it will provide a barricade. homeowners along the coast are also preparing. >> don't want to take a chance. >> reporter: businesses are boarding their windows and billboards in atlantic city are coming down. grocery stores and gas stations full of people trying to get ahead of the storm. >> we have water and flashlights and stuff. got to be prepared. >> reporter: near fiphiladelphi there's concern about six oil refineries, 7% of the nation's capacity potentially threatened

by the storm. officials in new york city will decide today if subways, bridges and tunnels will get shut down. mayor bloomberg urging city dwell e dwellers not to assume they're in the clear. >> don't get lulled tomorrow when there's not a lot of rain and not a lot of wind. this is a dangerous storm. >> reporter: new jersey's governor, chris christie, echoing the warning. >> we should not underestimate the storm and should not assume predictions will be wrong. >> reporter: though mandatory evacuations are beginning to take effect, some say they are not going to leave. >> we have never left the house or evacuated in the past. we are staying. it's our home. it's our house. >> reporter: hopefully they live to not regret that decision. but let's take a look and show you what the path of the storm looks like. it continues as a category 1 storm over the next 24 hours, paralleling the coast and then some time monday night it makes a sharp left turn and makes its way onshore as a category 1

storm. and the problem is once it makes its way onshore it's not done yet. it is going to linger the next 72 hours. as it comes onshore storm surge will be a big issue from wilmington to norfolk about 3 to 6 feet above normal tide. as you get from ocean city, maryland, to montauk, long island, anywhere from 4 to 10 feet above their normal tide and, unfortunately, where this is heading it will be about an astronomical high tide so that's a big problem. rain also a big issue with a system like this. generally speaking about 3 to 5 inches of rain over the next 76 hours but as you get closer to the coastline anywhere from 7 to 10 inches of rain locally up to 12 inches of rain and that's why there are flash flood watches, flood watches, and right along the coast, coastal flood warnings in effect with coastal flood watches. and the winds are going to be a big problem as well. we now have high wind warnings in effect. winds gusting 75 to 80 miles an

hour the mid-atlantic and the northeast. a dangerous, dangerous storm that will, once it moves inland, cause massive problems as well and some areas inland, west virginia, ohio, and the northeast and pennsylvania, southeast pennsylvania, jenna, could pick up to a foot of snow. this will be a monster. >> wow. al, thank you very much. and we're going to get the rest of the nation's weather forecast from dylan dreyer in just a few minutes. but now we want to go back to lester in richmond, virginia. all right, jenna, thanks. now to the presidential race and the election just nine days away. have virginia is one of the few states that just might hold the keys to the white house. it has 13 electoral votes and as of now it seems to be anybody's race. the new "washington post" poll shows president obama in the lead by four points but a fox news poll conducted last week has mitt romney ahead by two. keep in mind both leads are within the margins of error. in the past three elections voters here in virginia have

picked the winning candidate so it's clear the road to 1600 pennsylvania avenue may run straight through the state of virginia. it wasn't all that long ago that virginia was better known for its civil war battlegrounds than its political ones. for ten straight presidential elections the republican candidate came out on top, but then in 2008, virginia voters went for barack obama. >> virginia! >> it was interesting because he kind of road tde the wave and h swayed a lot of districts that had been traditionally republican. >> while the 2008 vote here closely mirrored the rest of the country, virginia has actually fared better economically. its unemployment rate is below the national average from its fast growing washington, d.c., suburbs to the huge military presence around norfolk, a lot of government tax dollars flow into the state.

but, like a loet of the nation, virginia has experienced huge ethnic shifts. a restaurant owner, an indian immigrant, will vote for obama. >> after this past monday's presidential debate i turned off the tv and i did not list en to anything. and then it became very clear, you know, that overall we are better off now than we were in 2008 at this time. >> one of the places that turned virginia from a solidly red state into what some call a purple state is henrico county with richmond at its center, where republicans used to call an easy win. that all changed in 2008. the question is, his that chang permanent? richmond has a lot of african-american and democratic leaning population. the suburbs mostly white and republican. >> in the polling we've seen that almost a third of voters are considering themselves

independent. in some polls we actually see that there are more independent than democrats or republicans. >> places like it are a huge target of opportunity for the candidates. voters here, though, can be a tough audience. >> he will likely be receiving my vote, yes. >> the three of you are in the undecided category, correct? how many of you heard anything -- show of hands here -- how many heard anything in the debate to help you make up your minds? three debates, nothing moved the needle? >> not really because i think the debates are rehearsed. >> there's no real saying i want to help people with student loans, now that i'm dealing with after graduating with an mba. >> political wild cards, the campaigns are getting people they know for them out to the polls. but first-time voters like college student destiny lieber are determined not to fall into simple categories.

>> i don't want to be narrow minded and didn't want to shut one candidate out because obama is the incumbent and romney is a republican. i didn't want to do that. >> bob mcdonald is the republican governor of virginia. governor, good morning. thank you for joining us. first let's talk about the weather, the storm is coming. how are you guys set for preparations? what do you expect here? >> we're used to storms in have a have a being a coastal state. we're not used to three or four day event followed by snow in the west. it's different. i declared a state of emergency early which we typically do which means itch the guard called up, declarations being made locally for local emergency and so forth. i think we're in good shape. we have a lot of resources deployed in the eastern part of the state. the biggest threat is sustained

rain and wind and then downed trees which means widespread power outages so about 2,000 additional line workers called in from out of state to help us out. >> you have a bit of help that the candidates decided to stay out of here. i know they want to be here now but that would get in the way. >> i appreciate governor romney calling me up yesterday and they decided not to come to virginia today, three events scheduled, the president tomorrow. so i appreciate that so we can focus on law enforcement. >> you are a supporter of mitt romney. let's talk about the ground game here. the obama campaign really never left after 2008. they have 60 offices here, about 20 for romney. is this going to become a matter of knocking on doors and getting voters out, and is romney at a disadvantage because of the organization? >> no. it's not about offices, it's about ideas. and what's driving the campaign in the later stages is the fact that with this crushing unemployment of 8% nationally, with national debt now $6 trillion higher under this

president, gas prices doubling, i think what the independent voters, the undecideds want to know about who has the best ideas the next four years and i think increasingly they believe it's mitt romney with his plan. >> you have to get your voters out. we've seen the polls razor tight here. you have a storm coming. are you at all concerned that -- let's assume power could be out in a lot of these places through election day. is that now a card? >> it's seven days from the time the storm passes until election day. we've taken precautions to move up polling places to higher spots for restoration. the power company is well aware of that. i don't think it will interfere with voting. the ground game is the best i've seen in my 20 years in politics for the republican team here, lester. about 4 million phone calls. 1.5 million door knocks. people are very engaged. they're energized. a lot of young people are helping the republican team this time and i think we're going to win virginia. >> you mentioned unemployment. you're under the national average here, thank goodness,

but you hava lot of government jobs, a lot of military jobs. a series of mandatory cuts in defense spend iing at the end o the year. i know you have criticized the president on this but paul ryan vo voted for that. so how do you make the case? >> republicans and democrats supported the sequestration announcement 15 months ago in august of 2011, but it was supposed to be a hammer not a policy. in other words, the super committee was supposed to get a budget deal done but now, lester, we're two months away from crippling cuts to the military. that ought to call them devastating. in virginia it's 200,000 jobs. the president has been a bystander. bob woodward said this wasn't the president's idea to have $600 billion in defense cuts on 0 top of the $400 billion this year. >> we know it's a huge issue. >> it is. the fact is you have to have a solution. here we are a couple days before an election, two months before they go into effect, and the president just hasn't led on this.

that's my criticism at this point. we're home to 150,000 men and women in uniform. 800,000 veterans. and they just like to sit and watch. in a time of war you don't cut the military by a trillion dollars. >> we have to end. i appreciate your time at a time you're dealing with this. >> i think we're ready. >> it's great to see you. >> thank you. >> and now back to new york. tom has the news. the west coast is dealing with a tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake overnight. hawaii ordered evacuations of coastal areas ahead of the tsunami. the waves came in smaller than expected this morning and the warnings have been downgraded to advisories. the 7.7 quake struck off the coast of british columbia. hawaii, alaska, the pacific northwest and british columbia were all on watch overnight for tsunami waves. a manhunt is on for a suspect in a shooting spree along michigan roadways. they are looking for a man suspected of two dozen shootings

in the past week. here is a sketch. friday he hit his first victim, a bullet struck a man driving on 0 i-96. most of the shootings have been along that road. the injured man underwent surgery and is expected to recover. a 12-year-old daughter of florida senator marco rubio is in fair condition now after an accident in a cart. senator rubio got word of the accident while on the road campaigning with mitt romney. amanda rubio sustained a head injury and is in a pediatric intensive care unit in miami. and finally, talk about an earful. breaking his own guinness world record by lifting 187 pounds with his ear. once he was loose he went ahead and pulled a school bus with his ear. he says he can lift 45 pounds with one eye as well. we want to tell you, don't try this at home. we're not sure why you even would want to. that's the news. now back to jenna and dylan. >> why? tom, why? just curious. >> why not try it?

>> why did he want to do it? my ear is not lifting enough these days. i really feel like i need -- >> he actually does have a goal. he wants to set 50 world records so india becomes the country with the most guinness world records. >> there you go. that's the answer right there. so factual. tom, thank you very much. let's get a look at the rest of the nation's weather forecast from the very busy dylan dreyer. dylan, good morning. good morning. yeah, been focusing on sandy for sure, but the west coast actually talking about a lot of rain themselves, the pacific northwest will see a ton of rain and wind in the mountain passes. we're looking at a lot of snow, too. several inches out that way. good morning from nbc bay area weather center. starting off clear. beautiful conditions expected through your sunday. high pressure in control leaving for clear skies. we won't see much in terms of cloud cover today.

84 in santa rosa later on. san jose, 78 degrees. beautiful all over the board. through wednesday, rain heads our way by evening and lasts through thursday. and that's your latest forecast. jenna? >> dylan, thank you very much. we're watching sandy as we continue ahead here on a sunday morning. sandy it continues to threaten to become a storm of historic proportions taking dead aim at the east coast. ♪ [ male announcer ] when you're sick, seems everyone and their brother has a home remedy to try. but walgreens knows that you need advice from an expert. that's why our pharmacists are trained to know just what you should take for your symptoms. they're here and ready to help before you try anything... too crazy. now walgreens pharmacists welcome express scripts members. you may stop by today for the service you trust. at the corner of happy and healthy.

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good morning to you. looking live at the bay bridge toll plaza on a nice clear start to this morning. chilly to start but it will warm this afternoon. thanks so much for joining us. i'm kris sanchez along where meteorologist anthony slaughter in for rob mayeda. we're watching the forecast in detroit because we're looking for a sweep. >> it's going to be cold. that's the bottom line in new york. once it gets below 50, it's all the same. it's cold. nothing like that here at home. we're talking about a warm weekend. beautiful conditions yesterday into the city by the bay. expecting the same thing today. high pressure will slide to the south just a bit through the day allowing for more onshore breeze by evening hours and in the meantime today looks good. clear skies. warm wind. halloween looks tricky if you

are making plans for for. we'll have your forecast in just a bit in the seven-day forecast. temperatures in the 70s and 80s later today. >> thank you very much. one win away. the giants play the tigers today in detroit for game four of the world series and they are certainly giving fans something to cheer about especially some of the fans in the east bay believe it or not. last night hometown hero giants short stop brandon crawford had an rbi single that helped move the team to a win. one win away from the series title. the short stop has made name for himself in major league baseball in pleasantton where he grew up people have been watching him play for years and are super excited to see him on the big stage. >> his parents have been season ticket holders for many, many years and now they get to see their son play on the giants. >> brandon crawford was a standout player at foothill high school in pleasanton. since it is possible the

giants could win the series tonight in detroit, maybe tomorrow the city of san francisco wants people to enjoy the game together and possibly celebrate that win all together. the city plans to host a viewing party at civic center plaza. mayor ed lee says the city will set up a jumbotron so fans can cheer on the team like they did in 2010. stay with nbc bay area news for more on the world series. live reports coming up at 7:00 this morning and again at 8:30. you can also go to nbcbayarea.com for all of the latest giants and world series news any time of day. right now we are going to send you back to the "today" show. want you to know that we are continuing to monitor the storm that is hitting the east coast and it has potential of affecting one in five americans if hurricane sandy merges with the other storm already planned

for the east coast. we're also watching your halloween forecast for wednesday. we'll see you back here in just 30 minutes.

congratulations. back now with more of "today" on a sunday morning, the 28th day of october, 2012. you are looking at the heavy surf along north carolina's outer banks as hurricane sandy swirls in the atlantic and gets set to pound the northeast over the next couple of days. meantime, here in new york city, we still have a happy crowd out on the plaza. but pretty soon they're going to want to head for shelter. right now we have them out on the plaza all looking happy. we are delighted for you to join us. i'm jenna wolfe in new york. lester is in virginia covering the storm. also looking ahead to next week's presidential election in that battleground state. lester, we're not the only one with a crowd in new york. you have your hands full with

happy people there as well. >> i've got a nice crowd here as well. we're at the university of richmond, great folks came out here. they're cheering now but wait until they hear. i have an announcement to make. i've been told i know the storm is coming but classes are still on tomorrow, okay? sorry. at the don't like me so much. we have the university of richmond cheerleaders over here and their mascot, the spider. ever heard of a spider as a mascot? anyway, we thank them for coming out. but truly everyone is starting to hunker down and get ready for this storm. the candidates were both supposed to be here, president obama and governor romney have now canceled their campaign appearances in virginia but that's nothing, of course, compared to the danger being faced by millions of people in its path. we have two live reports including the track of the storm from al coming up in just a moment. and we cannot tell a lie. we'll have a little fun as well. when we catch up with a guy who bears a very unique resemblance to the first president of the united states. he's got some pretty interesting things to say, jenna, about this

current race. >> well, i, too, could look like that guy if i dressed up the way he did, although there is a striking resemblance. we'll switch gears from politics to talk about a very, very overweight daschund. there's a little controversy following this poor guy around. he looks happy so maybe he's not aware of what's going on. >> we'll see you near the end of the show. >> also a guy known as a toy hunter is going to explain why you just may be sitting on be a fortune if you hung on to any of your old toys. but first, lester, back to you in havevirginia. all right, jenna, thanks. right to hurricane sandy. we have two reports this morning from al roker in asbury park, new jersey, and the weather channel's julie martin in nags head. julie, how is it looking there? >> reporter: good morning, lester. we've been dealing with tropical storm force winds since about midnight here along nags head. and the fact sandy is 300 miles

away or so from us, that is a true testament to how strong these winds are, how strong this storm is, and just how giant that wind field is. it is eventually going to be making its way into the noheast. right now we're dealing with gusts upwards of 50 miles an hour along nags head. a hard, stinging rain from the north/northeast, and a sea that is churning up a lot of sand. part of that was actually blown away during hurricane isabel in 2003. yesterday i could see all the way out to the end of the pier with no water. now the water is up across 70 feet or so of beach. so the water is moving in as well. we do have a hurricane warning offshore here for mariners and already some road closures as well. in fact, the road it to cape hatteras is closed off due to flooding. this is a preview of what is to come in the northeast as the

center is expected to pass here about 2:00 this morning and then take a sharp left right into the big city. lester? julie martin, thanks. about 400 miles up the coast to asbury park, new jersey, al roker is tracking sandy's path. al, good morning again. >> reporter: well, good morning, lester. right now sandy about 260 miles south/southeast of cape hatteras, north carolina. 390 miles east of new york city and it is a huge storm, tropical force winds extend out some 520 miles from the center of the storm. so that's more than 1,000-mile radius. let's look at the path of the storm and you'll see basically it's going to parallel the coast for the next 24 hours and then it's going to make a left turn some time late monday night, early tuesday morning. come onshore somewhere central coastal new jersey and that's the worst part for the northeast because the worst part of the storm is the right quadrant. the northeastern quadrant. that means new york, much of

northern new jersey, connecticut, long island sound, boston. we're talking about a real mass storm surge that will be up to ten feet above normal and we're talking about rainfall amounts up to 12 inches of rain. so it's going to be a real mess and then linger inland for another several days. now to the rest of your nation's weather with dylan dreyer. dylan? we also have some rain in the pacific northwest. heavy rain and mountain snow likely up that way with a huge pacific storm making its way onshore. now we do have also this cold front that's moving to the east. that's the one that's going to draw in sandy, but for right now it is bringing some rain and showers all across the eastern great lakes and we will continue to see that slowly spread eastward. so it is going to get messy with all eyes, of course, on sandy as we head into early this week. good morning. i'm anthony slaughter in the nbc bay area weather center this morning. you're looking atop from san

bruno at sfo. no fog this morning. no airport delays. high pressure to be in control all weekend long for the next 24 hours. in fact, as we head through halloween, high pressure will move out and we're talking about rain by halloween night. 84 today in santa rosa. san francisco at 74 degrees. that rain arrives late on halloween. you'll get in for your trick-or-treat. have a great weekend. so on the east coast we're talking about sandy but in denver it's a whole different story. the new orleans saints are heading out that way to denver to take on the broncos at sports authority field at mile high. pa partly cloudy and mild. 54 to 58 degrees. it should be a great day for football night in america. jenna? thank you very much. a fierce custody battle is playing out these days in oregon over a real cutie. but this isn't a child. it's a daschund who has become a very huskey dog. now more from miguel almaguer.

he is very sweet and outgoing. >> reporter: at his peak he tipped the scale at 77 pounds. >> i wasn't expecting a purebred daschund. >> reporter: he's the daschund with lots to love. but obie isn't just big, he may be the most overweight dog of his breed anywhere in the world. >> he loves attention. >> reporter: twice the normal size, the 5-year-old, seen here on youtube, has been dubbed the dumpy daschund. >> he loves everybody he meets. >> reporter: everyone loves obie, too. he is at the center of a custody battle that's heading to court monday. >> we don't want to secelebrate how big he is. we want to celebrate how healthy he can be. >> reporter: in august, nora became obie's dog after he was rescued. soon she began post iing pictur of obie and had his battle to lose the bulge. >> should be eating about 500 calories. >> reporter: within weeks his facebook page had more than

69,000 likes. last month obie was on the "today" show. >> so, nora, how long do you think it will take obie to get back to normal weight? >> it could take a year. our goal is 1% a week. >> reporter: all that attention was the problem. the rescue team says obie is being exploited for his unusual obesity for promotional gain. now the nonprofit wants the adorable, waddling whale back. >> the dog was not suppose d to be a media sensation. he was to be cared for. he needed vet treatment. he needed an exercise regime. >> reporter: she says he is losing weight. >> eat your carrots. >> reporter: 15 pounds so far. some 14,000 people have shown their support online. the stage is set for monday's custody battle over obie, a dog with plenty to love but only enough for one owner. for "today," miguel almaguer, nbc news, los angeles.

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then rinse clean away leaving a cool tingling that just won't quit extreme clean from aquafresh. take the feeling of clean to the extreme. we all loved shopping for toys when we were kids so how would you like to do it for a living? we caught up with a guy who is reliving his childhood and making it his profession. >> reporter: whoever said toys were just for kids has yet to meet jordan hembro. >> they call me the toy hunter. oh, man. this is where we've been hiding everything. >> reporter: for the past 25 years he's made a living buying, selling, and playing with them. >> i scour the country and i dig deep. >> reporter: do you know how much i can get for this? but this isn't child's play. it's hard work. >> i'm hunting 24/7 every day, 365 days a year. >> reporter: in the new show on the travel channel he searches high and low for hidden fortunes

in america's toy chests. >> i have been looking for these. >> reporter: when you come up here or a place like this what do you snee. >> my eyes are dart iing back a forth. i'm looking for toys that are recognizable so i'm seeing pac-man, evel knievel. i'm looking around. i see skedoodle, star wars, cabbage patch. these are going bam, bam, bam. i know that i have to hone in on hose. those are the ones that will start making money for everybody. >> reporter: what began as a hobby is a serious and profitable business. >> sold. years ago i sold a rare star wars toy and it garnered about $75,000. >> i just touched a -- >> the thing is this, not every toy is going to be a home run but a lot of the old toys from the 19 0s, '70s and '80s are worth money. >> reporter: especially barbie, cabbage patch, hot wheels, and

anything and everything star wars. simply having toy gold hembrough's term for striking it big isn't enough to rake in the cash. it has to be in good condition. >> first and foremost, is it in the package? that packaging is everything. if you don't have the package, make sure the toy is complete. >> reporter: here is the million dollar question, what do you have to say to all those moms and dads that yell at their kids, want them to get rid of those toys, toss them out? what do you say? >> these toys are worth money. people have got to realize that. you can't just throw them in the junk bin, you know. >> reporter: and, remember, growing up doesn't necessarily mean you should stop acting like a kid. for "today," new york. >> who has the best job? jordan hembrough is here. we were lucky enough to be blessed by your offerings this morning. i want to dig in because this brought back so many memories.

lunch boxes. so much fun, we used to clank them around. it was this or bust. >> i hit my brother in the head with them. >> who didn't? who didn't hit your brother over the head with these lunch boxes? >> that's true. >> we gave up on these, the brown paper bag. these are so vintage. >> they're highly collectible in the secondary market. they're tin and filled with colorful graphics but no one really understands how valuable this stuff is. it's batman lunch box from the 1960s with the thermos goes upwards $400. >> amazing. >> if you're from my generation, empire strikes back and star wars right now will garner you about $125 to $150. >> and the longer you keep it, the more it will be worth. >> in it good condition, you're good. >> a couple collectibles here. my brother has 40 million of these at home. if i gnaw i could have got money for them, i would have cleaned them out. why are they so valuable? >> star wars is forever. it clicked with everybody and everyone loves it and it keeps

coming back and back and back and it really maintains the collectibility of the secondary market. if you have any of these dolls upwards of $150 to $500 for some of this stuff. >> let's move on to teddy roughspin, my little pony, all of them, these guys were great. >> of course. really big in the 1980s. done by a company called worlds of wonder. it was the first animatronic teddy bear. scared the hell out of me. if you have one in the box upwards of $125. >> why didn't we treat our toys better back then? and finally some of these masks big for halloween. you got some money in your hands. >> every year halloween comes around and people start digging through their attics and all the halloween decorations and masks, you have original planet of the apes and "star trek" from the 1970s. you're looking at $300 to $350

each. >> favorite toy of all time? >> star wars. >> you didn't even have to think about it. i'm embarrassed i even asked you. jordan, thank you for joining us. appreciate it. a fun show. looking forward to it. "toy hunter" wednesday nights on the travel channel. we'll take a break. my credit card rewards are easy to remember. with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, i earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries. [ all ] 3% on gas! no hoops to jump through. i earn more cash back on the things i buy most. [ woman in pet store ] it's as easy as... [ all ] one! -two. -[ all ] three! [ male announcer ] the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. apply online or at a bank of america near you. ...and now... you! [ giggles ] ♪ the one and only, cheerios

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to richmond, virginia, the capital of the state that just might have a big say in who the next president will be, so to get a little perspective we sent john yang to visit a very famous virginian who know as little bit about being number one. hey, john. >> reporter: lester, how are you? i went up to mt. vernon in northern virginia because we

figured who better to talk about the race to be the next president than the first president? ♪ for purple >> reporter: george washington didn't have negative ads, big rallies or superpac support but still won 100% of the electoral vote, twice. he's astounded the candidates in today's race could spend $1 billion each by election day. >> billions of dollars? >> reporter: billions of dollars. >> have you been in my whiskey in the distillery? because that is an unfathomable amount. >> reporter: the pear of our country recalls the big challenge of his presidency, the crushing national debt which today stands at more than $16 trillion. >> we had a debt, sir, of $70 millions, most of it from the war. and so it was a great burden. >> reporter: these are

washington sentiments as interpreted by the only impersonator authorize d to appear in mt. vernon, the first president's estate along the potomac river. >> mrs. washington and i extend our warm and sincere virginia hospitality to each and every one of you. >> reporter: the former salesman lives the role reading what washington said and what he wrote all to try to think as washington thought. >> from the moment he comes until he leaves he is washington. >> no taxation without representation. >> reporter: there's a new item for sale, george washington campaign buttons. do you wish he was on the ballot? >> i sure do. and i'd vote for him right away. >> reporter: but washington is having none of it. >> my goodness gracious. to actually want the office? i'm a bit bewildered, truth be told. >> reporter: now the people we talked to, the visitors of mt. vernon, said they would gladly vote for george washington for president again and they stressed his honesty and his

integrity. lester, i'm sure that's not a commentary of the current candidates but, lester, here is your official george washington for president button. >> i like the silver one that i can spend but this works, too. he has my endorsement. great stuff. we'll be back with more if a moment including another update on hurricane sandy. ♪ just put a little bit of yourself ♪

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it is time now to find out what david gregory has coming up on "meet the press." good morning, jenna. so much to talk about. the final week of the campaign we're going to zero in on the most important battleground states this morning. this race will be decided. i'll be talking to the governor of all-important ohio john kasich, the governor of wisconsin, scott walker, also the governor of colorado, all coming up this morning on "meet the press." >> a busy morning but a fun one. thank you very much. we want to check in one more tame with the weather channel's julie martin who is feeling the effects of hurricane sandy already in north carolina's outer banks. hey, julie. >> reporter: yeah, generjenna, this is just a taste of what is coming your way in the next day or so in the northeast. in fact, it could be even worse because sandy is still far offshore here along the outer banks, about 280 miles away from

me. and we are still seeing tropical storm force winds, heavy rain, and a very rough surf. take a look at the atlantic ocean behind me. and you can see if you look at the pier there how high the waves are. we're looking at 12 to 15 feet at sea as we speak. i mentioned the tropical storm force winds. we're gusting to around 50 here and that has been going on since about midnight. so the duration of this event is also very important. and that's going to be the case there in the northeast where you are as well. it's not going to be like a traditional hurricane where you sort of have an eye wall and then the eye comes across and it's calm for a while and then you get the back said. because this system is so large you are going to have these persistent high winds over a long, long period of time. and that's the case today here in the outer banks. we're already dealing with about 2,500 power outages along the north carolina coast. we also have road closures, highway 12 it to cape hatteras is shut off due to overflow to

the atlantic ocean and we're expecting more coastal flooding as well. jenna, that's the latest from the outer banks but, again, people in the northeast, if you're watching this, keep in mind the winds there are going to be even higher than what you are seeing here, so now is definitely the time to get your supplies ready and plan to stay inside. jenna? >> julie martin, thank you for hanging out with us this morning. you stay safe. that's going to do it for us on this sunday morning. we'll send it back to lester one more time. lester, i know i say this to you all the time but, please, once again, stay safe. come back soon. jenna, i have to tell you, i was hoping to come home tonight but my flight is canceled because the airlines are canceling flight. too bad tore you. i have a present, some home cooked salt ed virginia peanuts. a good brand, i'm told. and it's genuine virginia stuff. >> hey, that will stay. come home, bring it home. it's all right. don't leave it. >> bring it home? >> all right. i want to thank all these great folks here at the university of

virginia for being such gracious hosts here. they are preparing for the storm. it's great of you all to come out. the weather has held off. it's getting windy, the clouds moving over quicker. we're probably all going to get wet here very soon. our thanks again to the spider cheerleaders from the university of richmond. i love that. spiders. anyway, please keep it on nbc news.com for the very latest and, of course, msnbc during the day for the latest updates on hurricane sandy. we'll be down in virginia beach tonight for "nbc nightly news" with the latest on the storm's track. until then, thanks for watching, everybody. so long and have a safe and good sunday. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

i need your help... i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. well...everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe well...i'm not at liberty to give that out, but we do use tender chunks of white meat chicken in an herb & spice broth. come on that's it? i need the recipe. you gotta help me out! [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? like a ninja!